Like records, all streaks are made to be broken — especially losing streaks. After five frustrating losses in a row, Iowa left nothing up to chance in a 85-61 throttling of host Washington.
The Hawkeyes shot a team-record 33-46 (71.7%) from the field in the win, including a perfect 8-8 and 4-4 from deep from Lucy Olsen — a welcome return to form for the point guard, who had been mired in a slump. Olsen added a team-high six assists in the win, several to center Addison O’Grady, who logged 17 points of her own.
Iowa made 14 consecutive field goals during the second and third quarters, which included five of Olsen’s eight buckets on the day.
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1. Catharsis. After losing five games in a row, all by single digits and the last two with shots to win at the end of regulation, the Hawkeyes found themselves in unfamiliar territory for their careers.
“It hasn’t been the easiest ride, obviously,” said O’Grady. “Most of us are not used to that, in any way. I mean, the five freshmen coming in weren’t used to that in high school, and the juniors and seniors on this team haven’t lost that much, ever.”
If the streak was supposed to be discouraging, nobody got the memo to the Hawkeyes, who hit their first nine three-pointers of the game and finished 9-for-13. Iowa had shot 29.9% from deep through the five-game skid, and was shooting just 31.9% for three for the season coming into the Alaska Airlines Arena, the temple of the dogs.
“A big part of it was just having easy three-pointers,” said O’Grady. “We were getting wide-open looks because they were doubling in on the post, and it’s something that we worked on a lot because we expected the double.”
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“My little thing before the game was, ‘Just be us’,” said Jensen. “We know what ‘us’ is all about. Let’s just show it tonight.”
Mission accomplished from the get-go, as the Hawkeyes raced to a 50-26 lead over the Huskies at the half — outscoring their entire listless performance at Oregon three days prior, in fact. Iowa was shooting 74% at that point, including eight three-pointers — leading to an effective field-goal percentage of over 100% for the first 20 minutes.
“We just have so much trust in our team,” said O’Grady. “The coaches, our teammates and just our whole program culture in general. So I think we’re just able to lean on one another and get each other open for shots. Then everyone is flowing at the same time tonight, and it was beautiful.”
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Iowa refused to go cold in the second half, never shooting less than 60% in a quarter and (accordingly) never letting the Huskies make any headway until Jensen had cleared her bench.
“We did not take bad shots tonight,” said assistant head coach Randi Henderson. “I thought we gave up tough ones for easy ones for our teammates, and we found each other in spots we needed to score. It was just a really fun, fun game to watch and be a part of.”
Key to the Hawkeyes’ success was the scouting of assistant Sean Sullivan, who had the Washington assignment — but also some of the crispest execution of the season from the players themselves.
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Incredibly, the nine consecutive threes might not be the most impressive streak of the night for Iowa, as an Olsen three-pointer early in the second quarter pushed Iowa’s lead to 15 — good but innocuous at the time, but enough to kick off a stretch of 14 consecutive made field goals by the Hawkeyes.
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By the time McCabe mercifully missed a three-pointer with 4:11 left in the third quarter, Iowa led 65-34 and the game was functionally over. Washington left its starters in to press the end of Iowa’s bench at the end of the fourth quarter — to a “make ’em call it” level of physicality — “softening” what had been as much as a 36-point lead to its final margin, the Huskies’ largest home defeat in nearly four years (USC, 84-50, 2/7/21)
“I wasn’t appreciative that they continued to press when we were trying to get some of our younger [players] and the kids that don’t get in as much,” said Jensen.
UW’s press did little to stunt Iowa’s postgame jubilation, though. A team haunted by inconsistent offense, missing its second-leading scorer and desperately looking for answers… only to find nirvana and slam the book shut on its losing streak in undeniable fashion.
“I’m so proud of everyone,” said Olsen. “It’s been so tough, and everyone on the team has different roles, and I know people have been struggling, not getting in the game, but we really are like such a well-bonded team that we all care for each other so much. They know that whether you’re the top player, the last player off the bench, it doesn’t matter. We’re all going to show up to practice and make each other better. Every day that we’ve had in this losing streak, we’ve shown up to practice knowing that we’re going to keep getting better, and our time will come.”
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2. Big Bang Baby. Nobody was more relieved to succeed Wednesday than Olsen, as the 8-for-8 game for the star bucks a trend of miserable shooting in the Big Ten. Olsen had been making just 31.5% of her attempts from the field in conference play, and was “really pressing,” according to Jensen after the 50-49 loss to Oregon Sunday. “She’s more of a scoring point guard, and it’s coming a little harder.”
The switch flipped Wednesday, as Olsen was lightning-quick with her release in transition, and logged six assists to just a pair of turnovers. And thanks to some sound guardin’, she grabbed one of Iowa’s four steals on the night.
When the preseason All-Big Ten guard was asked how she navigated the rough stretch, she credited not only her supporting cast, but the work she had already put in.
“Talking with the coaches, talking with my teammates, but trusting the work you put in and not getting away from all that you’ve practiced,” said Olsen. “Just keep doing the things that I’ve been doing and I know eventually — well, I was hoping eventually — that they would fall. I’m just glad I kept staying in the gym and not giving up.”
“The percentages she’s been shooting is not typically her MO, and the pressure is such a difficult thing,” Jensen said Wednesday. “So it was just nice. Everybody looked tonight like they just played free.”
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3. Owning the Boards. Iowa’s ability to stay competitive in every game is as much about its rebounding as any offensive threat. The Hawkeyes have out-rebounded 18 of their 20 opponents this season, but few performances have been as dominant as Thursday’s.
Iowa finished with a 32-16 advantage on the glass against the Huskies, which included the Hawkeyes corralling eight of their 13 misses from the field. That left Washington with just five defensive rebounds as a team for the game — the same as Iowa’s backup center Ava Heiden logged by herself in 15 minutes of action.
Heiden also had a monster game defensively, adding a pair of blocks and steals and showcasing the tantalizing skill set that made her the highest-rated member of Iowa’s 2024 recruiting class.
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It’s worth noting that the Huskies are not exactly built to bang on the glass, averaging the fewest defensive rebounds per game in the Big Ten. They also didn’t have much of a double-team plan for O’Grady, making most of her baskets a Piece of Cake.
But it’s equally worth noting that Hannah Stuelke — Iowa’s leading rebounder, at 8.2 per game — did not make the trip west with the team after a concussion suffered during the overtime of the Nebraska game.
And if there’s a pearl jammed into this adversity, it’s that Stuelke — eager as she already is to get back on the floor — can focus on something as vital as concussion recovery without the added urgency of an ongoing losing streak, or an offense in disarray without her.
Iowa returns to Carver-Hawkeye Arena next Tuesday, facing Northwestern (7-10, 0-6) as one last tuneup before No. 4 USC comes to town Sunday. The Northwestern game tips off at 7 PM on the Big Ten Network.
